Naruto, my father's name is Uchiha Madara.

Page 156

The forest path outside Konoha Village winds and twists, and sunlight filters through the dense foliage, casting dappled shadows on the damp dirt road.

The air was filled with the fresh scent of grass and trees and the aroma of earth.

Jiraiya, carrying a huge scroll on his back, walked leisurely ahead, humming an off-key tune.

Naruto and Sasuke followed behind, one looking around expectantly, while the other remained as cold and silent as ever.

"Hey, you lecherous immortal!"

Naruto finally couldn't hold back any longer and ran up to Jiraiya.

His bright blue eyes gleamed with eager anticipation: "Didn't you say you were going to teach us super powerful ninjutsu? Now that we're out of the village, shouldn't we start?"

He rubbed his hands together, looking eager to try.

Although Sasuke didn't say anything, he unconsciously quickened his pace.

His cool, dark eyes glanced at Jiraiya, clearly also waiting for an answer.

"Hehe, little rascal, so impatient?"

Jiraiya stopped and turned around, his face bearing his signature slightly mischievous smile: "Haste makes waste. If you want to learn my most treasured skills, you'll first need to master a basic ability."

"Basic skills?"

Naruto was taken aback: "What basics? Taijutsu? Ninjutsu? Or hand seal speed?"

"neither."

Jiraiya smiled mysteriously and quickly formed hand seals: "Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"

The ground trembled slightly, and the soil in front of them rose and shaped itself as if it were alive.

In the blink of an eye, two mounds, nearly two meters high, with extremely sharp tops and streamlined conical shapes, appeared.

It stood firmly in the clearing in the woods. The surface of the mound was smooth, and it gleamed with the unique luster of soil in the sunlight.

"What...what the hell is this?"

Naruto circled one of the earthen cones twice, poked the hard earthen wall with his finger, and looked bewildered: "Two big mud cones? Perverted Sage, you're not going to teach us how to play in the mud, are you?"

Sasuke frowned slightly, looking at the earthen cone with its sharp tip and pitifully small supporting surface, his eyes also filled with confusion.

What does this have to do with powerful ninjutsu?

"Playing in the mud? You brat, don't talk nonsense if you don't know what you're doing!"

Jiraiya glared at Naruto, then rummaged through his huge scroll.

They actually pulled out two stone slabs with fairly smooth edges.

He placed the stone slabs on the tips of the two earthen mounds.

The contact surface between the stone slab and the tip of the earthen cone was only the size of a coin, making it look precarious.

Jiraiya patted the dirt off his hands and pointed at the stone slab: "I want you to take this stone slab, place it on top of the earthen mound, and then sit on it, maintaining a cross-legged sitting posture, and—not moving an inch."

"what?!"

Naruto's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

Pointing to the tiny contact point and the stone slab that looked like it could slip at any moment: "Sit on this? And stay completely still?"

"How is that possible! It would fall off in the wind! You'd barely get your butt warm before you're face-planting!"

Sasuke didn't yell or shout like Naruto.

But his tightly pursed lips and the look in his eyes that said, "This completely violates the common sense of physics," fully expressed his thoughts.

This is simply a fantasy.

Meanwhile, inside the sealed space, Minato saw the two earthen cones and the stone slab through Naruto's vision.

His usually gentle face instantly showed great surprise, and he couldn't help but exclaim, "This training... Jiraiya-sensei wants to teach them 'Sage Mode'!"

"Sage mode?"

Madara sat cross-legged on the Nine-Tails' enormous head, his scarlet Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan turning slightly, carrying a hint of scrutiny.

He knew about Sage Mode; after all, Hashirama Senju used it to suppress him, who possessed the Nine-Tails and the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, with "Sage Art: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands".

However, he had never learned the specific methods for learning Sage Mode, let alone knew that such strange training was required.

Minato's expression turned solemn and serious as he explained to Madara, "This is one of the most important prerequisite training methods before entering the Myoboku-ryu Sage Mode—'stillness'."

As he spoke, Minato recalled what Fukasaku had told him when he was learning Sage Mode: "The essence of Sage Chakra is to guide, merge, and control the 'natural energy' that fills the world."

"Natural energy is formless and intangible, yet it is everywhere, like the finest dust and the gentlest breeze."

"To clearly perceive them and safely integrate them into the body and merge them with one's own chakra, the practitioner needs to enter a state of extreme tranquility and unity of mind and body, eliminating all distracting thoughts and unconscious bodily movements."

"Any tiny movement or emotional fluctuation can disrupt the perception of natural energy. At best, it will prevent you from entering a state of deep concentration; at worst... you will be devoured by the violent natural energy and turned into a stone frog!"

Minato recalled the group of toad statues on Mount Myōboku, his voice tinged with lingering fear: "This kind of training, which involves maintaining absolute stillness at the extreme support point, is to hone their most subtle control over their bodies and to completely calm their minds, like a still well."

"Only in this way can we 'listen' to the 'voice' of natural energy to the greatest extent possible, laying the most solid foundation for subsequent absorption of natural energy."

"Hmph, troublesome prerequisites."

After hearing this, Ban let out a disdainful snort.

In his view, power should be domineering and direct, crushing.

This cumbersome method, which requires sitting quietly and contemplation, is simply not in line with his aesthetics.

Suddenly, Madara remembered something: "Wait a minute! Hashirama never seems to need to do this to enter Sage Mode."

When he fought Hashirama, Hashirama used the Sage Art: True Thousand Hands, and he was instantly caught in the attack!

Minato stroked his chin thoughtfully: "It must be that the Sage Mode that the First Hokage learned is different from the Sage Mode of Mount Myōboku."

The crouching Nine-Tailed Raman opened his eyelids, his scarlet beastly eyes glancing at Ban with a hint of mockery.

He spoke in a muffled voice: "Celestial arts... Old man, I remember very clearly, you don't seem to... know this troublesome 'celestial arts', do you?"

Madara's eyes instantly turned cold, like an ice spike piercing the Nine-Tails.

He crossed his arms, raised his chin slightly, and spoke with absolute arrogance and unquestionable conviction: "That kind of thing is just icing on the cake. I can learn it in a minute if I want to! The essence of power ultimately lies in the Sharingan's ocular power!"

Although he spoke toughly, the fact that the Nine-Tailed Fox had pointed out his inability to use sage techniques still caused him a slight, extremely subtle displeasure.

Chapter 176 Difficult Cultivation

Meanwhile, in the real world...

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

Naruto shook his head vigorously, pointing at the rickety stone slab: "There's only so little support! You can't even sit on it without moving, let alone put a rock on it! Perverted Sage, are you kidding us?"

Although Sasuke didn't speak, the doubt and disapproval in his eyes reached their peak.

Jiraiya sighed dramatically, with an expression that said, "This is hopeless." He continued, "These young people nowadays have no spirit of challenge at all. They shout 'impossible' before they've even started. Just watch!"

Before he finished speaking, Jiraiya moved!

He did not jump directly onto the stone slab, but rather in an extremely light and graceful manner, like a feather falling.

With a very slight touch of the side of the earthen cone with the toes, the whole person landed steadily on one of the stone slabs as if weightless!

Sit cross-legged, place your hands naturally on your knees, close your eyes slightly, and your breathing will instantly become long and calm.

Time seemed to freeze at this moment.

The wind rustled through the woods, and birds hopped and chirped on the branches.

However, the stone slab beneath Jiraiya, along with his entire body, remained motionless, as if welded to the tip of that tiny earthen cone!

He seemed to transform into a mountain, becoming one with the earthen mound beneath him and the land beneath his feet.

Even when a few curious birds landed on his shoulder or head, he didn't react at all, as if he were truly in a meditative state.

"oh--!!!"

Naruto's mouth dropped open, his jaw almost falling to the ground.

His azure eyes were filled with an incredulous adoration: "Amazing! Amazing! You lecherous immortal! How did you do that?!"

Even the usually calm Sasuke was completely moved at this moment, his cold black eyes bursting with intense shock and curiosity!

He stared intently at Jiraiya's rock-solid figure, trying to find any flaw in his movements, but he failed!

This completely overturned his understanding of balance and body control! It's not just a skill, but an indescribable realm!

After a long while, Jiraiya slowly opened his eyes.

He smiled slightly at the two dumbfounded kids below.

Her body floated down as lightly as a feather, landing steadily without stirring up a speck of dust.

He walked up to Naruto and Sasuke, patted them heavily on the shoulders with both of his large hands, and smiled encouragingly: "See? When I say you can do it, you really can! Nothing is impossible in this world; the key is whether you have the determination to try and persevere!"

"So, you two little ones, start your training now!"

He pointed to the two earthen cones and the stone slab: "I'm going to the town not far ahead to inquire about Tsunade, and while I'm at it... cough cough, to take care of some personal business."

After feigning a few coughs, Jiraiya continued, "When you've trained enough, or when the sun is about to set, come find me in that town ahead. It's called 'Maple Leaf Town,' it's very easy to spot!"

After saying that, Jiraiya slung his large scroll over his shoulder, winked at the two of them, and disappeared into the dense forest path in a few leaps.

Naruto and Sasuke were left staring at each other, wide-eyed at the two lonely earthen cones and stone slabs.

After a short silence.

"Let's have a match, Sasuke!"

Naruto jumped up suddenly, his eyes burning with fighting spirit, and pointed at the earth cone: "Let's see who can sit on it for ten minutes like the Perverted Sage! The loser buys Ichiraku Ramen!"

Not satisfied, Naruto added, "Super deluxe version!"

Sasuke coldly uttered two words and turned his face away.

But his body betrayed him as he walked toward another mound of earth: "I'm not going to play this childish game with you."

"Tch! What's with the cool act!"

Naruto immediately exposed Sasuke's mistake, making a face at his back: "I bet you're just afraid of losing to me! Coward!"